Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas tells the tragic love story of Dido, Queen of Carthage, and Aeneas, a Trojan prince. Aeneas, shipwrecked in Carthage, falls in love with Dido, and they express mutual devotion. However, a sorceress and her witches, plotting Carthage’s downfall, deceive Aeneas with a fake message from the gods, commanding him to leave and fulfill his destiny to found Rome. Aeneas reluctantly obeys, abandoning Dido. Heartbroken, she sings the poignant aria “When I Am Laid in Earth” before succumbing to despair and death. The opera explores themes of love, betrayal, and destiny within a compact, emotionally powerful framework.
 
Nahum Tate (1652–1715) was an Irish poet, playwright, and England’s Poet Laureate from 1692 until his death. Born in Dublin, he graduated from Trinity College in 1672. Tate is renowned for his collaboration with composer Henry Purcell on the opera Dido and Aeneas (1689), providing its libretto, a masterpiece of English Baroque music. He also gained fame for rewriting Shakespeare’s King Lear with a happier ending, a version staged for over 150 years. His hymn-writing legacy includes the Christmas carol While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night. Despite his accomplishments, Tate died in poverty in Southwark, London, in 1715.
 
TATE, Nahum. Dido and Aeneas. Montreal: Pierre Turcotte Editor, Libretto Collection, 2025, 38 p.